Click to play videoLondon: India-born author Indra Sinha, one the 13 authors in this year’s long list for the Man Booker Prize, says he felt like a “fraud” while writing his novel.
Animal’s People—Sinha’s second novel—is based on the Bhopal Gas tragedy of 1984. The ex-adman and activist, whose efforts led to the founding of the Bhopal Medical Appeal in 1994, hopes that his book will make people aware of the continued suffering of the people of Bhopal.
“There is nothing in the book that hasn't happened in Bhopal. I hope people will wake up to it and realise what happened. It is time people were treated properly and with respect,” says Sinha.
The novel is about an orphan, Animal, who is badly crippled and walks on all fours, it is presented as a series of taped conversations between Animal and a journalist. However it’s not a miserable memoir or a pitiful tale. Instead Animal's brazen personality, his sense of humour and genuine honesty makes him a very lively protagonist.
“When I started writing this I felt like a fraud—I have never been hungry; never spent one night in a basti—how can I write about these people. It’s only when the idea of Animal came. For me Animal is a live character, a living person who I knew rather than who I invented,” says Sinha.
The use of dialect might not be very 'literary' but lends authenticity and indeed the humour to the tale. The book, which was selected from 110 other novels, is a strong contender for the shortlist to be announced this week.
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